Neotama Baehr & Baehr, 1993

Foord, S. H. & Dippenaar-Schoeman, A. S., 2005, First records of the genus Neotama Baehr & Baehr (Araneae: Hersiliidae) from the Afrotropical Region, African Invertebrates 46, pp. 125-132 : 127-128

Neotama Baehr & Baehr, 1993

Tama: Simon 1882: 255 (in part).

Neotama: Baehr & Baehr 1993: 68 ; Rheims & Brescovit 2004: 189.

Type species: Tama variata Pocock, 1899 .

Diagnosis: Clypeus very short, as long as ocular area length, eye tubercle depressed; very long legs, metatarsi I, II, and IV with narrow flexible zone in distal third; male palp with tibia not much longer than patella, cymbium digiform, bulbus round; sperm duct with basal loop; embolus curved, filiform; epigyne externally with two lateral slitlike to oval openings, copulatory duct wide, spermathecae cylindrical, seminal receptacle simple, round with stalk; fertilisation duct short, simple.

Description:

Female

Size: Medium, range (6.32–7.13).

Colour: Carapace pale yellow with isolated dark and white markings laterally; clypeus pale yellow, white anteriorly; eye area dark around AME eyes and PER; white mark posteriad on eye tubercle; abdomen white with dark anterolateral borders; dorsum with lancet-shaped heart mark; V-shaped marking posteriad on dorsum ( Fig. 5 ); posterior lateral spinnerets with no or faint annulation; legs pale yellow with patellae dark brown; femora and palps with faint annulation.

Carapace: As long as wide; thoracic region widest; cephalic region narrow; dorsoventrally flattened ( Fig. 3 ); fovea longitudinal with radial striae; clypeus very short, not projecting beyond eye area, varying in length between 0.36 and 0.59 × median ocular quadrangle length; eye area very depressed ( Fig. 3 );ALE smallest, white; AME largest; chelicerae stout, retromargin with one row of minute teeth, promargin with three large teeth. Sternum heart-shaped; labium triangular, 0.63 × endite length; endites elongate, rectangular.

Abdomen: Wider than long, widest in posterior third; dorsoventrally flattened; four pairs of distinct dorsal muscular pits varying in size, second pair largest, oval; venter with V-shaped muscular pits; posterior lateral spinnerets very long,>2 × carapace width; terminal segment>4 × basal segment.

Legs: Either leg I or II longest; leg I> 3 × total body length; leg formula I:II:IV:III; leg III very short, <0.3 × length of leg I; metatarsus I> 8 × longer than tarsus I; distal segment of metatarsus <0.5 × length of proximal segment. Femur, patella, and metatarsus with spines; spines short, <0.5 × diameter of legs, spine formula: I- Fe 1p1r1d-1p1r1d- 1p1r1d, Pat 1d, Tib 1d-1p-1r-1d-1r-1p, Mt 1p1r; II- Fe 1p1r1d-1p1r1d-1p1r-1d, Pat, Tib 1d-1p1r-1d-1p1r-1d, Mt 1p1r; III- Fe 1d-1d, Pat 1d, Tib 1d-1d, Mt 1r1p1v-1d; IV- Fe 1d-1d-1d-1d, Pat 1d, Tib 1d-1d-1r-1d, Mt 1p1r; spine microstructure with irregular patterns of lancet-shaped scales; paired tarsal claws with nine teeth.

Male

Size: Small (4.83–5). Resembles female in shape and colour; male differs structurally as follows: smaller in size; abdomen more slender, legs much longer in relation to body length; leg I much longer than other legs.

Palps: Tibia as long as patella; cymbium digiform; bulbus round, sperm duct with basal loop; embolus filiform, regularly curved, apex acute.

Remarks: Species of Neotama differ from those of Tama Simon in their arboreal life style, much longer legs, leg I and II always longer than leg IV, a narrow flexible zone in the distal third of leg I, II and IV, dorsoventrally flattened carapace and abdomen, and very short clypeus.

Composition: Neotama variata ( Pocock, 1899) – Sri Lanka; N. corticola ( Lawrence, 1937) comb. n. – South Africa; N. longimana Baehr & Baehr, 1993 – Sumatra; N. rothorum Baehr & Baehr, 1993 – India; N. punctigera Baehr & Baehr, 1993 – India; N. mexicana (O.P.-Cambridge, 1893) – Mexico; N. forcipata (F.O.P.-Cambridge, 1902); N. obatala Rheims & Brescovit, 2004 ) – Brazil; N. cunhabebe Rheims & Brescovit, 2004 – Brazil.

Distribution: Nearctic, Neotropical, Afrotropical and Oriental Regions.

Phylogenetics:The slit-like, oval, lateral openings between the lateral borders and median plate of the epigynum support the monophyly of the genus Neotama . The presence of a narrow flexible zone on metatarsi I, II, and IV and a basal loop in the sperm duct of the palp are homoplasious characters that also support the monophyly of the genus.

Figures

Figs 1–7. Neotama corticola (Lawrence, 1937) comb. n.: (1) left palp ventral view, (2) left palp prolateral view, (3) carapace lateral view, (4) carapace anterior view, (5) female abdomen dorsal view with spinnerets, (6) epigyne ventral view, (7) epigyne dorsal view.Abbreviations: c – copulatory duct, e – embolus, f – fertilisation duct, lb – lateral borders, mp – median plate, s – spermatheace, sr – seminal receptacle. Scale bars = 0.5 mm.